China and Internet Security


DateFriday, January 13, 2006
LocationRussell Senate Office Building, Room 188

Andrew McLaughlin, Senior Policy Counsel for Google, discusses China's efforts to control the internet. China has developed one of the most sophisticated efforts to filter and regulate the web, involving multiple agencies and layers of government. It attempts to censor web pages, blogs, online chat, and email. The attempts to filter and control the web are dynamic and occur at many different points in the chain. US companies working in China, including Yahoo and Microsoft are facing increasing pressures under Chinese law to censor and filter the internet. Why has China developed such an extensive control system? What impact does this have on US companies seeking to do business in China? What are the implications for the spread of democracy and human rights.